Privacy, Security, and Deception

We’re committed to protecting user privacy and providing a safe and secure
environment for our users. Apps that are deceptive, malicious, or intended to
abuse or misuse any network, device, or personal data are strictly prohibited.

User Data

You must be transparent in how you handle user data (e.g., information provided
by a user, collected about a user, and collected about a user’s use of the app
or device), including by disclosing the collection, use, and sharing of the
data, and you must limit use of the data to the description in the disclosure.
If your app handles personal or sensitive user data, there are additional
requirements described below. This policy establishes Google Play’s minimum
privacy requirements; you or your app may need to comply with additional
restrictions or procedures if required by an applicable law.

Post a privacy policy in both the designated field in the Play Console
and from within the Play distributed app itself.

Handle the user data securely, including transmitting it using modern
cryptography (for example, over HTTPS).

The privacy policy must, together with any in-app disclosures,
comprehensively disclose how your app collects, uses and shares user data,
including the types of parties with whom it’s shared.

Prominent Disclosure Requirement

If your app collects and transmits personal or sensitive user data unrelated
to functionality described prominently in the app’s listing on Google Play or
in the app interface, then prior to the collection and transmission, it must
prominently highlight how the user data will be used and have the user
provide affirmative consent for such use.

Your in-app disclosure:

Must be within the app itself, not only in the Play listing or a website;

Must be displayed in the normal usage of the app and not require the user
to navigate into a menu or settings;

Must describe the type of data being collected;

Must explain how the data will be used;

Cannot only be placed in a privacy policy or terms of
service; and

Cannot be included with other disclosures unrelated to
personal or sensitive data collection.

Your app’s request for consent:

Must present the consent dialog in a clear and unambiguous way;

Must require affirmative user action (e.g. tap to accept, tick a
check-box, a verbal command, etc.) in order to accept;

Must not begin personal or sensitive data collection prior
to obtaining affirmative consent;

Must not consider navigation away from the disclosure
(including tapping away or pressing the back or home button) as consent;
and

Must not utilize auto-dismissing or expiring messages.

Here are some examples of common violations:

An app that doesn’t treat a user’s inventory of installed apps as
personal or sensitive user data and doesn’t comply with the Privacy
Policy, Secure Transmission, and Prominent Disclosure requirements.

An app that doesn’t treat a user’s phone or contact book data as
personal or sensitive user data and doesn’t comply with the Privacy
Policy, Secure Transmission, and Prominent Disclosure requirements.

Privacy Shield

If you access, use, or process personal information made available by Google
that directly or indirectly identifies an individual and that originated in
the European Union or Switzerland (“EU Personal Information”), then you must:

You must monitor your compliance with these conditions on a regular basis.
If, at any time, you cannot meet these conditions (or if there is a
significant risk that you will not be able to meet them), you must
immediately notify us by email to data-protection-office@google.com and immediately either stop
processing EU Personal Information or take reasonable and appropriate steps
to restore an adequate level of protection.

Permissions

Permission requests should make sense to users, and should be limited to the
critical information necessary to implement your app.

Don't request access to information that you don't need. You may only request
access to the user data that is necessary to implement existing features or
services in your application. Don't attempt to "future proof" your access to
user data by requesting access to information that might benefit services or
features that have not yet been implemented.

Request permissions in context where possible. Request access to user data in
context (via incremental auth) whenever you can, so that users understand why
you need the data.

Device and Network Abuse

We don’t allow apps that interfere with, disrupt, damage, or access in an
unauthorized manner the user’s device, other devices or computers, servers,
networks, application programming interfaces (APIs), or services, including but
not limited to other apps on the device, any Google service, or an authorized
carrier’s network.

Malicious Behavior

We don’t allow apps that steal data, secretly monitor or harm users, or are
otherwise malicious.

An app distributed via Google Play may not modify, replace, or update itself
using any method other than Google Play’s update mechanism. Likewise, an app
may not download executable code (e.g. dex, JAR, .so files) from a source other
than Google Play. This restriction does not apply to code that runs in a
virtual machine and has limited access to Android APIs (such as JavaScript in a
webview or browser).

The following are explicitly prohibited:

Viruses, trojan horses, malware, spyware or any other malicious software.

Apps that link to or facilitate the distribution or installation of
malicious software.

Apps or SDKs that download executable code, such as dex files or native
code, from a source other than Google Play.

Apps that introduce or exploit security vulnerabilities.

Apps that steal a user’s authentication information (such as usernames or
passwords) or that mimic other apps or websites to trick users into
disclosing personal or authentication information.

Apps may not depict unverified or real world phone numbers, contacts,
addresses, or personally identifiable information of non-consenting
individuals or entities.

Apps that install other apps on a device without the user’s prior
consent.

Apps designed to secretly collect device usage, such as commercial
spyware apps.

Apps that monitor or track a user’s behavior on a device must comply with
these requirements:

Apps must not present themselves as a spying or secret surveillance
solution.

Apps must not hide or cloak tracking behavior or attempt to mislead users
about such functionality.

Present users with a persistent notification and unique icon that clearly
identifies the app.

Apps and app listings on Google Play must not provide any means to
activate or access functionality that violate these terms, such as linking to
a non-compliant APK hosted outside Google Play.

You are solely responsible for determining the legality of your app in
its targeted locale. Apps determined to be unlawful in locations where they
are published will be removed.

Check out our App Security Improvement Program to find out about the most
recent security issues flagged to developers on Google Play. Vulnerability
and remediation details are available in each campaign's support page link.

Deceptive Behavior

We don't allow apps that attempt to deceive users or enable dishonest behavior.
Apps must provide accurate disclosure of their functionality and should perform
as reasonably expected by the user. Apps must not attempt to mimic
functionality or warnings from the operating system or other apps. Any changes
to device settings must be made with the user's knowledge and consent and be
easily reversible by the user.

We don’t allow apps or ads that mimic or interfere with system functionality,
such as notifications or warnings. System level notifications may only be
used for an app’s integral features, such as an airline app that notifies
users of special deals, or a game that notifies users of in-game promotions.

Here are some examples of common violations:

Apps or ads that are delivered through a system notification or alert:

① The system notification shown in this app is being used to serve an
ad.

We don’t allow apps that make changes to the user’s device settings or
features outside of the app without the user’s knowledge and consent. Device
settings and features include system and browser settings, bookmarks,
shortcuts, icons, widgets, and the presentation of apps on the homescreen.

Additionally, we do not allow:

Apps that modify device settings or features with the user’s consent
but do so in a way that is not easily reversible.

Apps or ads that modify device settings or features as a service to
third parties or for advertising purposes.

Apps that mislead users into removing or disabling third-party apps or
modifying device settings or features.

Apps that encourage or incentivize users into removing or disabling
third-party apps or modifying device settings or features unless it is part
of a verifiable security service.

We don't allow apps that help users to mislead others, including, but not
limited to, apps that generate or facilitate the generation of ID cards,
social security numbers, passports, diplomas, credit cards and driver's
licenses.

Any claim that an app is a "prank", "for entertainment purposes" (or other
synonym) does not exempt an app from application of our policies.

Misrepresentation

We do not allow apps or developer accounts that impersonate any person or
organization, or that misrepresent or conceal their ownership or primary
purpose. We do not allow apps or developer accounts that engage in coordinated
activity to mislead users. This includes, but isn’t limited to, apps or
developer accounts that misrepresent or conceal their country of origin and
that direct content at users in another country.